


A Christmas From a Time Long Since Past

by ShadowyDawn



Category: Room of Swords (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowyDawn/pseuds/ShadowyDawn
Summary: As Gyrus follows his Past’s persona deeper into the Black Box.  Gyrus must relive past memories to get better control of the black box and defeat the shadow soldier in side.  However, during his travels deeper into the Black Box, he finds a small bit of relief as he relives a memory from five years ago, and learns of his true relationship with his close comrade Kodya.
Relationships: Gyrus x Kodya, strawbarrow
Comments: 1
Kudos: 65





	A Christmas From a Time Long Since Past

“I’ll be your Lodestar. If you get lost, follow my trail.”

The words replayed in Gyrus’s mind over and over again as he matched each step with the faded mark on the floor, the mark a stranger and himself made at the same time. How strange things had become, Gyrus thought to himself. Just when he began to understand something, a new memory, a new beacon, would change how he saw not just himself, but the entire world. Every step made him uneasy. Where were they going next? What memory would his past self choose for him to see?

He was met with an answer sooner than he would have liked. Everything was going by so quickly. They had only a week to spend in the Black Box, only a week to learn 9 years of information.

Time seemed to work differently in his mindscape. To him it had felt like weeks had gone by, countless memories had come and gone, beacons lit, and more questions created than answered. He was only left with the time between memories to process his thoughts, a few moments before he was thrust into another memory, another voyage, another revelation. 

No time to rest, not now, not when he was running against the clock, and he was losing. Not when every moment he spent traveling between memories, the shadow in the Black Box grew stronger, he couldn’t afford to stop, not here, not now.

Gyrus’s eyes lifted from the floor to catch the gaze of his predecessor. A man draped in a black cloak and coated with a dark grey armor, armor that pulsed a vivid yellow, mimicking that of a heartbeat with each and every breath he took. 

Their eyes locked. Twin pairs of rich lilac eyes met for a brief moment. One set new and afraid, lost and out of their mind. The other set was wise beyond their years, old and decaying, losing a battle bit by bit. The gaze snapped when the fragmented mind of Gyrus’s past lifted his hand to make a portal. “Follow me. This is a beacon you must light, and quickly.”

Gyrus’s eyes flickered to the portal then back to the fragment.

“Will it answer my questions, or just leave more?”

The fragment sighed and began to step into the portal before turning to Gyrus and speaking.

“It will answer at least one. Now come.”

Gyrus swallowed and stepped forward, feeling the familiar tingle as he woke up in a past memory of is his own. The feeling was one that he had gotten used to, one that allowed him to catch a breath before his mind began to race and the struggle to process everything began again.

What memory would he see this time? Another encounter with the shadow within? Another encounter with one of his allies from a time long ago? He could only step forward and find out.

The first thing Gyrus heard was the sound of glass clattering together, the high pitched clink made his blurry eyes focus and soon he found himself well immersed with the atmosphere. He was in the Room of Swords, that much was obvious. He looked around to see that there was a party going on.

_Perhaps they completed another realm?_

Gyrus’s thoughts were interrupted when he found himself spinning and having a short but pleasant conversation with Oli. In body Gyrus partook of the conversation, speaking words that his mind had no control over. Gyrus was used to the feeling of not knowing what he would say, but he went along with it.

He felt a small amount of tension on the top of his head and felt the soft, feather-like brushstroke of hair down his neck. Gyrus found that how long his memory’s hair was could be used as a passage of time. Judging by its length, he assumed that this was about three years before the incident, roughly five years ago. He then focused on Oli’s words.

“...And it’s a good thing you saved the party. It was almost shadow hour when you came in and brought down the boss from behind. They couldn’t have done it without you.” 

_As I thought another realm completed, but why show me this one?_

Before Gyrus could begin to ponder, he felt his lips moving again, focusing on retaining every memory, every sense, every word.

“Don’t thank me, I didn’t do all the work. It was the entire team’s help that made it so we could take down the boss. And look at us now, this is our seventh sword. We’re almost a third of the way there.”

Oli patted Gyrus’s shoulder and smiled.

“You’re right, we’re almost there. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

As the conversation went on, a feeling of guilt shot through Gyrus. In just a few years, Oli wouldn’t smile at him. He wouldn’t get anywhere near Gyrus, not unless forced to. 

Much like everyone else in the Room of Swords, they would fear him and hate him, ostracize him and leave him to die if it weren’t for the weapons they used him to power. He felt his mind frown and yet, his body smiled. He felt his feet shift and he moved to lean in closer.

“And you as well. Tell me, did you finish the request?”

Gyrus perked up at this, he watched closely, wondering what Oli’s next few words and actions would mean for Gyrus’s past, present, and future. Countless thoughts rushed through Gyrus’s mind. One made Gyrus want to lean in closer.

_Oli… Were you a part of the plan as well? Were you a part of this all along?_

Oli’s words brought Gyrus out of his thoughts and back into the memory. Gyrus watched as Oli pulled out a small metal arrowhead from his pocket.

“Took me a while, but I finally got the mechanics of it right. The alloy was unlike anything I’ve ever made before. Here you are.” 

Gyrus felt his hand take the token and smiled.

“Thank you, Oli. I owe you one, big time.”

Gyrus felt the familiar pull as he began to walk around. His memory wandered back and forth, looking for something or someone in particular. The meandering ended and moved into a beeline as he felt his pace pick up. A look upward informed Gyrus why there was a sudden change in pace had occurred.

_Kodya..._

His heart picked up in both body, mind and spirit. Gyrus felt his body form a smile that matched his own. It had been only days since he found out Kodya was still alive, after feeling remorse, sorrow, hatred for weeks, after watching him die. Each memory of Kodya made his heart flutter with relief and shiver in pain.

Gyrus watched as his hand lifted up and tapped on Kodya’s shoulder. The small jump that Kodya made after the tap made Gyrus give a half-smile. It had been so long since he had talked to Kodya and not a past memory. There was so much he had learned about his own past that it made Gyrus feel like he was finally beginning to understand the person he once was.

But one thing had been left unanswered. Who was Kodya to past Gyrus? A friend, comrade, confidant, or was it something more? Time could only answer. And Gyrus felt like this was the time.

Kodya turned to see Gyrus and have a heartfelt smile. One that Gyrus had never seen Kodya give before. It was one that contrasted the Russian’s usual stoic personality. His words brought Gyrus out of his head and back into the memory.

“Hey Gyrus, we did it.”

He felt a smile form, a gentle, genuine smile and felt his hand reach up to come back a stray piece of hair from Kodya’s brow.

“We did it.” 

Gyrus felt a hand wrap around his waist, looking down he found Kodya’s arm wrapped up tight around the memory’s waist and another hand tilting up his chin. Gyrus always seemed to forget that Kodya was slightly taller than he was by a few inches. With a smile, Kodya spoke again.

“That realm was completely covered in snow. It reminded me of back home during the winter, where the Christmas days were so cold that even the firewood would freeze if it was left unlit.”

Gyrus chuckled on the inside, remembering the Christmas nights with his crew. At least, what was left of those memories after his past self had supplemented others in place of his crew members. He couldn’t even remember the face of his old captain Iro, let alone the looks of his other crew mates.

“Speaking of Christmas, do you remember what we said we would do once that last realm was completed?”

Gyrus watched as Kodya grew flustered. The ideas of what would come next ran through his head. He was at a loss, watching the memory where he had no real idea of what was happening. Kodya’s voice left the next answer.

“Of course. But not here. Let's go somewhere more private.”

Gyrus felt himself meander through the passageways, working through the corridors until he found himself with Kodya outside of his room. Realization began to slowly trickle in his mind as they slipped into the room together and closed the door.

_What could possibly be so important that they needed to be left alon-_

Gyrus’s question was answered as he watched the proximity between the two of them close. He felt his feet move and lead the way. He watched as his past self cornered the Russian and combed back a few more hairs and tilted down Kodya’s chin. He watched wide-eyed as the gap was closed, with a kiss. Gyrus felt a rush of warmth as his memory wrapped his arm around Kodya’s waist to pull them in closer.

The kiss was so sudden that Gryus hardly knew what to do. He had always known that the two of them were close but he never suspected that they were this close. He watched and smiled as he saw the two of them happy. Kodya began to comb back parts of Gyrus’s hair mid kiss and then moved to wrap his arms around his green haired lover.

How strange it was for Gyrus, to watch and feel the emotions of his past self, and to see how deeply in love the two were. The moment was sweet and delicate and it felt as if it was cut too soon when Kodya pulled away.

“Turn around. I have something for you.”

Gyrus felt himself smile and turn, closing his eyes as Kodya got something from a drawer. With a relaxed sigh as a signal, Kodya turned the memory around and placed something in his hands. Gyrus watched in awe as he beheld the journal in his hands. He felt his memory inspect the leather and flip through and new and blank pages. The smell of fresh leather reminded Gyrus of his home lands and made him smile.

“Thank you, Kodya. This...This is wonderful. I love it.”

The pair hugged each other and Gyrus stored the journal in his inventory. His memory smiled as he embraced the Russian. Oh how wonderful it felt to smile and be near the man he loved. And Gyrus watched it all. Smiling and happy for the couple who could still enjoy themselves before everything went downhill. Gyrus felt his lips move and waited to hear the next few words.

“Close your eyes, Kodya.”

When the hunter did so, Gyrus took out the arrowhead from his pocket and equipped a thin but sturdy rod of wood, and at the end of the wood, were three thinly fletched metal feathers. Gyrus used his powers to affix the arrow head onto the rod and as soon as the pieces were together the arrow glowed a soft green.

“You can look now.”

Kodya’s eyes opened and immediately began to inspect the arrow, checking the balance of it with the sharpness of the tip. He smiled and looked up to Gyrus with a happy heart, but before he could speak, Gyrus put a finger to Kodya’s lips.

“It’s a beacon arrow. I designed it so that wherever it fires, a pillar of light will form for the entire realm to see. After each use I’ll need to use my magic to refill it. But it should work wonders if it works as designed.”

Kodya’s eyes lit up and he stored the arrow into his inventory. He embraced Gyrus’s memory and the two interlocked in tight and loving embrace. Kodya was the first to speak, kissing Gyrus’s forehead.

“Merry Christmas, Gyrus.”

Gyrus felt the memory smile and kiss Kodya’s jaw line and comb combs his fingers through the Russian’s hair.

“Merry Christmas, Kodya.”

The two fell into another kiss and the memory faded away.

Gyrus found himself in control of his own body again and smiled, looking for his past’s fragment. When he caught a glimpse of him. Gyrus walked forward and smiled, clearing his throat before speaking.

“I never knew you two were so close.”

The fragment looked down and gave a sad smile before looking back up at Gyrus.

“Well now you do.”

His body grew rigid and he began to continue deeper into the Black Box. Gyrus recognized the signal to move and followed in suit with the shadowy figure as he kept moving.

“Now follow me. We’ve got more to see.” 

And Gyrus followed further into his memories forged in times long ago. Learning of who he once was, and who he would soon become.


End file.
